Marks & Spencer launch the world's 'most sustainable suit'

It has been four years in the making and even the suit's care label is made from recycled polyester. Tamsin Blanchard delivers her verdict on Marks & Spencer's foray into the world of sustainable style.

It looks like any other
Marks & Spencer suit
. Marc Bolland, M&S's CEO was so happy with it after he had it tailored to fit last week, he asked for another one straight away. Perks of the job, you might think. But the reason Bolland is so happy is that this suit has been four years in the making - every stitch and detail has been thought and rethought - and it will go on sale at the end of August as the world's most sustainable suit.

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Bolland was proudly modelling the £349 suit for its official launch this morning at the M&S Plan A Stakeholder meeting. Made from Australian organic wool, (British sheep just can't compete with the softness and quality of their Australian counterparts), dyed in Italy using GOTS approved technology, and then spun into yarn at an Italian mill, the fabric was then shipped to China along with around twenty other components - each one meticulously sourced to ensure they are the most sustainable possible, from the linings made from recycled PET bottle polyester from a hi-tech processing plant in Japan, the recycled polyester zips, the reclaimed pocket linings (surplus from their own production lines) and reclaimed stray buttons which would otherwise end up in landfill .

"It is a very complex supply chain," says Mark Sumner, Marks & Spencer's rather geeky-sounding Sustainable Raw Materials Specialist who has been heading up the project.

"Although it's as radical as we can make it in terms of sustainability it still looks like a beautiful suit and fits well and has the right styling and is good value."

So far, only 500 of the suits will be produced. It is being seen as a laboratory to test out new ways of more sustainable production from every aspect of the supply chain. Even the care label is made from recycled polyester. Each of the 20 major components that go into the suit have been looked at and analysed to see how to make them sustainable.

"In most cased we have had to push the boundaries of the industry and the technology to make the components more sustainable and keep the quality," said Sumner. "In some cases we've not been able to find a solution, for example on the sewing threads. Although there are some recycled polyester threads available, some of them are not strong enough to be able to hold the garment together and some are strong enough but tend to cause damage to the garment in the long run."

"We are getting a much clearer view of what goes on in the supply chain," he said. "This suit is a key learning tool for M&S to learn how to be more sustainable but also for our suppliers so we can work together to find better ways to minimise our impact for the environment. I talk about this suit being the equivalent of a concept car you would see in the automotive industry. It's about laying down what we consider to be a blueprint for the future of the textile industry. This suit demonstrates what can be done with the technology we have now if you are determined to make it happen."

Expect more sustainable clothes - including womenswear - to be launched by the end of the year.

"What we have done with this suit is extraordinary. We will be taking lessons from what we've learnt on the suits and apply them to other products. It may be we start with something small like the recycled polyester linings on all our suits. We are aiming for M&S to be the most sustainable retailer in the world."

Allanna McAspurn, the CEO of Made-By, a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to make sustainable fashion common practice and improve environmental and social conditions in the fashion industry, gave the suit the stamp of approval. "M&S are to be applauded," she said. "If this is used as a vehicle [for discussing issues around sustainability] it's a really positive thing."